Coal-handling machinery.



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Patented Feb. 6,1917.

'2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

4s-W l S. BUTLER. coAL HANuLlNG MACHINERY.

APPLICATION rFILED APR. 24. I9I5.

Famed Feb. 6,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 SAMUEL BUTLER, 0F SHRPLES, WEST VIRGINIA.

COAL-HANDLING MACHINERY.

Application led lApril 24, 1915. Serial No. 23,596.

To all lwhom t may concern.'

Beit known that l, SAMUEL BUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sharples, in the county of Logan and State 0f West Virginia, have invented certain lmprovements in Coal-Handling'Machinery, of which the following is a specification.

My improvements are designed for the purpose' of automatically conveying, grading and cleaning coal by a simple, eliicient and economical mechanism. l

The operation involves a utilization of .the difference in specific gravity and sliding friction between coal and refuse, particularly slate, in effecting the desired cleaning, and the mechanism is so constructed that it will simultaneously convey, grade and clean coal.

The characteristic features of my improvements are fully disclosed in the following description and the accompanying drawings in illustration thereof.

In the drawings, Figure l is a part sectional elevation of apparatus comprised in my improvements; Fig. 2 is a broken top plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on `the line 8 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. l is a per-y spective view of a section of the conveyerg and Fig; 5 is a plan view of a section of the double screen.

rlhe mechanism illustrated in the drawings comprises the struts 1 which support the rails 2, the arms 3 and the arms t. The

arms 3 support the shafts 5 having thereon polygonal wheels 6, respectively disposed between ends of rails in planes thereof. The arms 4 support the separator or double screen 7, formed by suitably spaced inclined bars 7a and 7b, and chutes 7C and 7d beneath the lower ends of the respective inclined planes formed by the bars, the screens formed by the bars having the hopper 7e beneath them.

The rails 2 and wheels 6 carry a conveyer comprising the links 8 flexibly connected by the pins-or rods 9, having rollers l0 thereon, and the shapes l1 having their end webs l1a adjustably connected with the links by the webs 8a thereon, the rollers running in the channels of the rails and the links registering with the fiat peripheral sections of the wheels.

l The shapes respectively comprise the oppositely inclined webs 11b and 11c connected at their ends with the webs v11a and extend- Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patent-ee Feb. c, asia;

ing transversely of the conveyer, the plane of the shorter web l1b being disposed transversely to its complementary web 11c in each shape and intersecting the'plane of the adjacent Web `11c of the succeeding shape.l

In traveling between the wheels 6, the web I or plane 11b of each shape is separated from the web or plane 11c of the succeeding shape by `a space 13 which may be varied, as the inclinations of the planes may be varied, in the manner rendered desirable by the particular work in hand, the spaces increasing in size as indicated at 13a when the conveyer is bent in passing over the wheels.

rlhe conveyor, which may be'driven by a chain 14 passing over a sprocket wheel 15 on a shaft 5, has, above the rear end of its upper course, a chute 16 which delivers thereto the coal to be conveyed, graded and cleaned; below the rear end of its lower course7 a car 17 movable on a track 18, and below the forward end of its lower course the separator or double screen 7 adjustable on the arms t to the position -desired for the work in hand. A second conveyer, having shapes or carriers 11 similar to 11 and suitably spaced for the work in hand, may be disposed under the hopper 7e to e'ect further grading and cleaning of coal delivered upper rails 2 by irregularities 2L or 2b theref of or by making the krollers '10 irregular in contour. Slate and other refuse matter, together with small coal, slide down the incline planes of the carriers 11 and through the apertures 13, in the upper-course of the conveyer, while bulkier coal and refuse matter slide through the larger openingl?)a at the forward end of the course. As the slate is heavy and flat, its tendency is to work down to the planes 11, beneath the lightercoal, and slide through the openings 13 and 13a. The larger size coal passes oil" the carrier into a receptacle such asfthe car 17.

The matter which falls through the openings 13-and 131L is caught in the cavities of the inverted carriers 11 as they travel along the lower rails, and is jarred, as by the contact of the track irregularities 2a and 2"' with the rollers 10, the effect being that the heavier refuse mattei vsettles to the lower the chute 7c while the more or less cubical- A coal passes between the bars into the hopper.

Thesmaller slate, together with a certain amount of small coal, falls upon the screen formed by the bars 7 b (suitably separated by Spaces having approximately the width of the spaces 13)-, the bulk of this slate passing into Vthe chute 7d while vthe coal passes.

through the screen into the hopper.

v It will be understood that the part 7 is set by observation so that its ridge or apex is in the correct position for dividing the coal from the refuse.

The conveyer, having the carriersI 11",

. movable beneath the hopper 7 e, operates, in

the same manner as the conveyer having the carriers 11, to further clean and grade small coal passing through the screens 7 a and 7*.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the distance coal usually falls (with consequentv breakage, production of undesirable small coal and forcing comparatively large coal through screens for smaller coal) is reduced by my improvements, as in usual operations large llumps are requently shattered in falling, shatter smaller coal, force coal through screens not designed for passing it, and stop screen apertures by wedging coal therein.

It will also beunderstood that my mechanism avoids the objectionable tendency (in former machinery) of large lumps, traveling over a screen, to carry slack with them, particularly where 4screen apertures have been blocked.V A

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In apparatus of the character described, conveying nreans having flexibly connected overlapping adjacent sections with inclined surfaces and apertures between said sections through which material sliding down said surfaces is adapted to pass.

2. In apparatus of the character described, conveying means provided with upper overlapping carriers having inclined surfaces with apertures between them, lower overlapping carriers adapted for receiving materials discharged from said upper carriers through said apertures, and means for discharging the materials deposited on said lower carriers.

3. In apparatus of the character described,i an endless conveyer and grader comprising pivotally y connected carriers each having oppositely inclined surfaces of unequal length and end links flexibly connected to `links of adjacent carriers, and means comprisin wheels for causing said carriers to travel 1n lower and upper courses.

4. In apparatus of the character described, a flexible belt conveyer provided with' carriers adapted to be tilted and separated,'and means whereby said conveyer is carried and'flexed at an end of a straight course of its movement, so that said carriers are tilted and separated to discharge materials thereon.

5. In apparatus of the character described, a flexible conveyer provided with carriers having arched exteriors and recessed interiors, and means for flexing said conveyer so as to pass a grade of material on upper carriers thereof to` lower carriers thereof and thereafter discharge and separate materials received on said lower carriers in combination with a grader to which material from said lower carriers is discharged.

6. In apparatus of the character described, a belt conveyer having carriers in combination with means for moving said conveyer through upper and lower courses and flexing it between said courses so as to open spaces between said carriers adapted to p'ass a grade of material from said upper to said lower carriers as they descend and to discharge said lower carriers as they ascend, and a grader to which material from said lower carriers is discharged.,

7. In apparatus of the character described, a belt conveyer having flexibly connected carriers traveling in several courses, in combination with rotary means for moving said carriers, of an upper course and means for jarring said carriers, said carriers being adapted for separating materials carried thereon and discharging materials therefrom to carriers of a lower course.

8. In apparatus 'of the character described, a belt conveyer provided with flexibly connected carriers havingv arched exteriors and recessed interiors, in combination with means for moving said carriers through upper and lower courses, and downwardly and upwardly between said courses, whereby said carriers are tilted and separated so that a grade of material is discharged over the downwardly traveling carriers, a grade of material is passed from the downwardly moving upper carriers upon the lower carriers, and a grade of material is discharged by the upwardly moving carriers.

9. In apparatus of the character described, a belt conveyer provided with flexibly connected carriers having arched exteriors and recessed interiors, in combination with means for moving'said carriers through upper and lower courses, and downwardly and upwardly between said courses, whereby said carriers are tilted and separated so that a grade or grades of material are discharged over them as they travel downwardly, dierent grades of materials fall by gravity between downwardly mov ing carriers in different strata on the lower carriers and the different materials on the lower carriers are separately discharged in the upward movement thereof.

10. In apparatus of the character described, upper and lower carriers, means whereby materials on the upper carriers are separated and part thereof falls on the lower carriers, said lower carriers having pockets for receiving such material yand means whereby materials on the lower carriers are separately discharged therefrom.

11. A coal conveying, grading and cleaning machine comprising upper carriers having spacesbetween them adapted for passing slate and relatively small coal, in combination with lower carriers having overlapping parts disposed Vso that slate and coal passing through said spaces fall thereon by gravity, and means whereby said lower carrieiis are caused to discharge said slate and coa 12. In apparatus of the character described, a plurality of carriers movable in a plurality of courses, said carriers having apertures between them through which material may pass in the upper course and overlapping devices or receiving such material in the lower course, means for varying the apertures between said carriers to permit the deposit of material on said first named material, and means for turning said carriers so as to discharge the different strata of material thereon separately.

13. In a coal handling machine comprising an upper track, a lower track and wheels at the end of said tracks, in combination with a link belt conveyer having1 sections with spaces between them carried by said tracks and wheels, means for jarring said sections in their movement, means for delivering coal containing refuse to said sections supported by said upper track, and means for separating coal and refuse discharged from said sections as they pass from said lower to said upper track.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name this 19th day of March, 1915, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL BUTLER.

Witnesses:

J. C. JONES, G. D. DILLON. 

